The view from a suite on the 53rd floor of Palms Place, where my daughter Danielle got a spread to serve as HQ from which to celebrate her 39th birthday.
Below, OK, too many people to name at the moment. Yeah, that's Jeff Ray on the far right.
Patience, peeps, I got about 133 shots to look through...___
Yet one more slammin' show. Yikes. Facilitated, to be sure by a slammin' crowd. Thank you all for coming to hang.
Danielle and her birthday party crew (including my son Nick and his totally sweet squeeze Sharla, and my awesome sister-in-law Michelle and Rodney) got everything they could have asked for -- including the band playing "Sweet Home Alabama" for her, as she'd asked me to hustle for her. I'd told her "look, I'll ask, OK, but these cats are all majorly busy and got a lot of other stuff to tend to."
I have to confess, I don't particularly get that vestigial Jones (she even has that tune as her cell phone ringtone, LOL), given all the racist bullshit she had to put up as a young child with when we lived there. Maybe it has something to do with Cheryl's family, far and away the best people I've ever known.
Jerry (and all of you), I owe ya. That was funny. Danielle was totally stoked.
Below, shot of the night?
What a bass ride...Jeez...brain bleed...
Dunno, as I review my stash, I shot a lot of missed-the-mark crap tonight. Perhaps it was the Dewars (I normally eschew a taste 'til after the show). But, below, these aren't bad.
Tonight, Abe did Tyriq's "I Feel Good," and ripped the rebar outa the floor. And then, he and Tony hooked up to share Tower's "Get Your Feet Back On The Ground." It thundered. Just unreal, the talent level in this band. It never gets old, not one for so much as one lick.
Crushing percussion sit-ins tonight. Marcia Chapa from Beyonce again came to hang and throw down (she sat in back in January, recall), as did our elegant brother Daniel De Los Reyes.
Larry Aberman from the Cirque Zumanity show came up to do "Soul Trilogy." He's been 'shedding the book lately, 'cause he's gonna be subbing for Pepe soon. Cat is another serious Bad Boy.
The talent, We are so blessed.
What a night...
___
BROTHER BILL
Oh, yeah. I already have it via iTunes. It is slammin'!
Went to see Abe and Christine LaMarca and Tex Richardson Friday night at Panevino. Were you restricted to just one adjective, it'd be "elegant."
So. I'm sittin' there thinkin' "just add a kit, bass, and guitarist and you got a totally badass group that should be at Bellagio or someplace like it." Not kidding.
Below, our bro' Ron Crews is back in town. He and Debbie came to hang -- and dance a bit.
Crewster is one Bad Boy percussionist and vocalist, btw. Glad to have him and Deb back around.
OK, back home, dose the cat (his twice-a-day insulin shot), watch a bit of le Tour on Tivo, then back out to The Bootlegger for the Hot Club of Las Vegas late night hang.
Above, Adrianna Thurber throwin' it down on violin. Below, Nathalie Gauvin from Le Reve sittin' in for Carol.
Dave Richardson and Dr. Lenny both sat in. Awesome. Great crowd, too. Place was about full, and peeps were seriously diggin' the music. Very nice to see.
___
UPDATE ON MY BRO' KURT
Regular blog readers might recall that a year ago I went up to the Seattle area, along with Tim Scott, to participate in a fundraising gig for our long-time friend Kurt Kolstad. Cat is one of the baddest drummers I ever heard, and has been battling acute, advanced lymphoma since 2005. Listen to him get after it, old live cut, 4 pc band (guitar, keys w/left-hand Rhodes bass, sax, and Kurt on tubs).
Scary player. He's been my great friend since 1974, when we played in a Seattle band together (lucky me). Below, Kurt and I at his house last July, after JoeyT and I just showed up outa the blue. Yeah, the chemo tan look. Swell. The chemo and radiation-induced neuropathy that's kept him mostly off his feet and off his kit is equally frustrating for him.
Well, we just got word that, notwithstanding a clean update diagnosis late last year, his cancer has returned yet again. Shit.
We been burnin' up the emails and phone calls ever since getting the news, with the cats up there planning another fundraiser for the end of August. The Kolstads long ago burned through their insurance coverage ceilings, and are now in that infuriating medical destitution circumstance (which complicates our legally helping them) from which we are all (us private sector peons, anyway) but one serious accident or injury away whether we realize it or not.
The Other BobbyG -- my totally boring, pedantic twin -- studies and writes at length about all that here. Lately I've been real distracted as I follow the current legislative drafts (e.g., an 852 page Senate bill and a 1,108 page House bill) and all the political maneuvering surrounding them.
___
Johnny Fontane's Beach House5310 W. Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV. 89146
(702) 367-6867
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009: 8PM - 12AM Midnight
Now every OTHER Thursday
No Cover!
Grand Opening Party for the 2nd & newest
King Tut's Pub & Poker
(formerly AJ's Tavern)
3650 S. Decatur Blvd, Suite 24,
Las Vegas, 89103
(S. Decatur Blvd. and W. Twain Ave.)
(702) 248-6919
Friday, July 24th, 2009: 10PM -3AM
No Cover!
___
From Mundo,
The Hot Club LV is back at the Bootlegger Bistro tomorrow night! The Bootlegger is definitely the best club for Jazz music with the best Italian food in town! Lots of guests will be joining us. Pianist Dave Richardson will be our featured soloist. Joining us on vocals will be Santa Fe's Lenny Lopez and Le Reve's Nathalie Gauvin! Miss fearless Adrianna Thurber will be with us once again on violin! It's gonna be a party and we hope to see you there! Aloha,
- Mundo
___
Also tomorrow evening at Panevino, 6 pm - 9 pm, power couple Abe LaMarca and Christine LaMarca team up with Tex Richardson on keys.
SRO house, all crammed in and ramped up for The Healing, band on fire. Just another night at the office. Stay tuned, 2:18 a.m., I'm triaging shots...
OK, this one worked out nicely. Dueling trumpet solos, Glenn Colby and Gil Kaupp during "Negrita."
Rachel Eckroth in the house! We again made her sit in.
Rachel will be on my next "Friends of Santa Fe" podcast (it's overdue, but it's coming). One serious artist, she is. I've got her MySpace tunes running in another window right now while blogging. Wonderful pure jazz stuff, and some eclectic selections.
Below, elevated backshot during "Soul Trilogy."
Above, Nathan. I scored a number of good shots of him tonight. His Las Vegas Jazz Connection concert on Sunday was simply amazing (see prior blog post). Below, our Fearless Leader. Man, did he ever throw down tonight!
Below, his equally talented brother Dr. Lenny, ripping the guts out of "Brother to Brother."
Other tunes of note tonight: "Pack it Up", "Ain't That Peculiar?", "Love Jungle", "Come Back Home", "Come Together", "Wishing Well" (Rachel sitting in on both of those), "Soul Trilogy", "System of Survival." One totally slammin' evening.
More shots...
Above, regular sub Mike Gonzales came to hang, and got collared to sit in.
So, after the gig, Abe LaMarca says to me "man, that was the easiest thousand dollars I ever made."
LOL!
I have more shots, but I'm tired. I've been shooting and posting all weekend. I'm gonna crash and post more after I get up and take care of some stuff.
Thanks for coming out tonight!
___
The view from a suite on the 53rd floor of Palms Place, where my daughter Danielle got a spread to serve as HQ from which to celebrate her 39th birthday.
Below, OK, too many people to name at the moment. Yeah, that's Jeff Ray on the far right.
Patience, peeps, I got about 133 shots to look through...
Danielle and her birthday party crew (including my son Nick and his totally sweet squeeze Sharla, and my awesome sister-in-law Michelle and Rodney) got everything they could have asked for -- including the band playing "Sweet Home Alabama" for her, as she'd asked me to hustle for her. I'd told her "look, I'll ask, OK, but these cats are all majorly busy and got a lot of other stuff to tend to."
What a bass ride...Jeez...brain bleed...
Tonight, Abe did Tyriq's "I Feel Good," and ripped the rebar outa the floor. And then, he and Tony hooked up to share Tower's "Get Your Feet Back On The Ground." It thundered. Just unreal, the talent level in this band. It never gets old, not one for so much as one lick. 
Crushing percussion sit-ins tonight. Marcia Chapa from Beyonce again came to hang and throw down (she sat in back in January, recall), as did our elegant brother Daniel De Los Reyes.
Larry Aberman from the Cirque Zumanity show came up to do "Soul Trilogy." He's been 'shedding the book lately, 'cause he's gonna be subbing for Pepe soon. Cat is another serious Bad Boy.
The talent, We are so blessed.
What a night...
